PM Modi travels by bullet train with Japanese PM Ishiba from Tokyo to Sendai

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (August 30) travelled in a bullet train from Japan’s capital Tokyo to Sendai along with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Both leaders shared pictures of themselves in the bullet train on social media, with Modi posting, “Reached Sendai. Travelled with PM Ishiba to this city on the Shinkansen.”

Meets Indian train drivers

Before their journey in the bullet train, the two leaders interacted with Indian train drivers undergoing training at the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

Also Read: Modi meets 16 Japanese governors, invites them to contribute to India’s growth story

They were also shown the new ALFA-X train, and the chairman of the East Japan Railway Company explained to them about the bullet train.

Visit to Sendai

PM Modi is visiting Sendai to tour important industrial facilities including a factory that manufactures coaches for bullet trains and a semiconductor plant.

The new semiconductor wafer fabrication plant is being developed by Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) in Miyagi Prefecture near Sendai.

Also Read: Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce weighs in on Modi’s 10 trillion yen investment target

This is one of Japan’s biggest ventures to revive its chip-making sector, and is being built in partnership with SBI Holdings and Japanese stakeholders under the joint venture company Japan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (JSMC).

India and Japan are working together in several areas including semiconductors, clean energy, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence.

Strengthening bilateral ties

Prime Minister Modi’s two-day official visit to Japan aims to strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations.

He attended the 15^th India-Japan Annual Summit, and held a discussion with the governors of 16 Japanese prefectures in Tokyo.

“State-prefecture cooperation is a vital pillar of India-Japan friendship. This is also why a separate initiative on it was launched during the 15^th Annual India-Japan Summit yesterday,” said Modi, sharing pictures from the meet.

Modi added that there is immense scope to cooperate in areas like trade, innovation, entrepreneurship, and more, and that futuristic sectors like startups, tech, and AI too can be beneficial.

Also Read: India, Japan committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific, says PM Modi

India and Japan have adopted a joint vision called “India-Japan Joint Vision for the Next Decade: Eight Directions to Steer the Special Strategic and Global Partnership”.

The two countries have signed a joint declaration on security cooperation, an implementing arrangement for the Chandrayaan-5 mission – a joint exploration of the moon’s polar region by the space agencies of both nations.